


Key To Her Memories

by curiousscientistkae



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Glimmer is torn about what to do, Hurt/Comfort, I guess kind of is, Kind of sort of panic attacks? just in case btw, Kind of takes place in s4 and just shoot out from there, Memory Loss, POV Glimmer (She-Ra), Swearing, blood mention
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:41:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24608611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiousscientistkae/pseuds/curiousscientistkae
Summary: Glimmer and Adora have been fighting for a long time now. Their relationship has become strained. Despite this, Glimmer clings to her feelings for Adora, not knowing what to do with them as they fight and argue more. Unfortunately for the queen, a catastrophe occurs when Adora loses all her memories of who she and everyone is. Now Glimmer must not only handle a war going nearly at her front door but she has to figure out what to do with Adora. She becomes torn between two conflicting arguments in her mind, struggling to choose which is right.*shrug to update cause got stuck*
Relationships: Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 52





	1. Deleted

**Author's Note:**

> I have no self control lol this one should not be that long of a chapter fic but like ye. I have had this idea roughly since s1 but have struggled to do anything with it. I tried it once before and ended up hating it and heh...deleting it BUT this time I really like this one so. 
> 
> Yeah it takes place in s4 but it changes shit around so just be aware of that as I work those plot points out. Hopefully I'll update soon since I have so many other ideas going on but again, hopefully this won't be to terribly long.
> 
> Either way, enjoy and kudos and comments are very much appreciated.

It’s a cry that catches her attention. A one of pure agony and fright. Glimmer has heard this scream once before in the waking world and has lost track of the times it has echoed in her dreams. She still can feel the electricity coursing through her body when she attempted to break free of its bondage so long ago in her desperation to save Adora from the clutches of the woman who raised her. There was time to save her then, only being feet away from the nightmare of her best friend having her mind be wiped. Now, however, the sounds that send icy cold shivers down her spine and bounces off the walls easily could come from any direction. Her legs move before she can think about anything else. 

The scream grows louder, piercing her ears. Glimmer wishes she can tune it out, slap her hands over her ears and drown everything out. There is no way she can do that. She has to listen to them in order to rescue Adora. Even after everything that has been said so far between them, after everything that they did to each other, there is no way she cannot abandon her. So much loss and death have happened all through her life, she cannot afford to lose anyone else. 

Glimmer can’t bear the thought of losing _Adora._

At a crossroad in the halls, she skids to a halt. Adora’s cries have died out. Fear fills Glimmer’s body. Has she failed? Should she have teleported despite not knowing the location of the noise? Damn it, this can’t be happening. Glimmer wants to scream, is just about to when she hears a new noise coming from her left. 

_"STOP IT!”_

The voice belongs to Adora, yet Glimmer cannot believe it is her. It sounds so broken and helpless. With her heart beating rapidly in her chest, threatening to burst free, she turns her head towards the hall containing the noise. A strong feeling of knowing where Adora is fills her chest. She sees the room in her mind and in a flash she is in the large, near empty room that they use as a pseudo-prison. In the middle of the spacious room, stands Shadow Weaver and Adora. The older sorceress has her hands gripped tightly around the warrior’s princess skull. Adora struggles to break free as bolts of bright crimson red shoot out all over. 

Red fills Glimmer’s own eyes, becoming the only color she can see. There is a singular thought in her mind, screaming loud in her ears. Her fists become nothing more than a bright ball of light as she teleports close to Shadow Weaver. Using the momentum of reappearing in air to add power to her punch, she strikes. Shadow Weaver has no time to react at all before Glimmer’s fist makes contact with her, forcing her off of Adora. She is sent flying towards the wall, hitting it and collapsing to the ground unmoving. 

“Don’t you ever fuckin’ touch her _again!”_ Glimmer growls, red still filling her sight. She begins slowly stepping forward, not through with Shadow Weaver at all, when a soft groan behind her stops her in her tracks. Her head snaps around, vision becoming clear as her eyes fall upon the crumbled form of Adora. Her blue eyes are closed shut and her body is nearly still, her breathing being her only movement. “ADORA!”

Glimmer races to her side, kneeling down and gathering her in her arm. Her mind is brought back to when they were at the Fright Zone, Adora tied to a table. Before, she got to her in time to save her mind from being totally wiped. The only negative thing from saving Adora the last time was the distribution of the spell caused Adora some memory problems. Glimmer prays she has not made that worse or that she made it in time to keep everything intact. 

“Adora! Adora, hey! Wake up!” Glimmer pleads. But her request goes unheeded. Adora remains unconscious in her arms. The only response she earns is the occasional soft moan from being shaken . 

Her vision becomes blurry. Glimmer refuses to believe she didn’t get here in time. The blonde in her arms just needs _time_ to wake up, that’s it. Yet, all she wants is to hear Adora’s voice like when they were at the Fright Zone and she spoke her name so softly, just barely above a whisper. That’s all she needs to reassure herself. Glimmer tucks a loose strand of hair that has fallen from being tied up doing the assault behind Adora’s ear before speaking again, her voice cracking. “You gotta wake up, ‘Dora. Please...Please wake up.”

Nothing. Glimmer’s grip around Adora tightens. She needs help. Thankfully, she does not have to wait long for that. 

“WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?” a voice shouts. Glimmer turns her attention away for a moment to see Bow entering the room, a couple of guards behind him, his weapon drawn. “I heard shouting wh-Glimmer...” Bow lowers his arms at the sight out in front of him. 

“Bow! Adora needs help! She isn't waking up!” There is more composure to her voice as she speaks but she can still feel the hot tears rolling down her face. “Shadow Weaver...Shadow Weaver tried to wipe her mind again! I heard her scream and came here and stopped it but...but...I don’t know why she won’t wake up.”

Bow quickly is kneeling at her side, a hand on her back. “It’s okay. We will get her to the healers. Everything is going to be alright, Glimmer. You saved her.”

 _I really hope I did..._ Glimmer thinks to herself. 

“What do you want us to do with Shadow Weaver, Your Highness?” one of the guards asks. 

“I don’t care. Throw her out, lock her up, do _whatever!_ Just get her out of here,” Glimmer tells them. 

The two nod and lift up the unconscious woman, taking her away from sight. Bow, meanwhile, helps his friend to her feet, Adora still resting in her arms. Glimmer does her best to focus long enough on the medical room of Brightmoon. Once it is clear in her mind, she brings both her friends to the location. Healers are shocked at the sudden appearance of their queen but Glimmer quickly tells them the run down of why she is here. Without saying anything, they take Adora from her to examine her. 

Neither Bow nor Glimmer speaks as they wait for answers. As much as Glimmer might want to talk about what she just witnessed, she feels opening her mouth to speak will only result in her bursting out into tears. She can’t allow herself to do that right now. She has to keep it together for Adora when she wakes up. Instead, she lets her mind run wild as she paces around. 

The past few months have been utter hell. The death of her mother, the Horde becoming harder and harder to fight back, and all the arguments said between her and Adora. Not knowing the state Adora will be in, Glimmer’s brain can’t stop replaying everything that occurred between them. How she kept using her as bait, trying to lure out Adora’s former family and stop them once and for all. And then the words she spat at her, telling her she is not doing enough and that she is to blame for the loss of Angella. Essentially, knowing how much Adora tries and how much it kills her inside and keeps her up at night, Glimmer told her to her face _everything_ was her fault. 

Glimmer loathes herself for saying that. It was in the heat of the moment but that doesn’t excuse any of it at all. No matter how hard she tried before to keep those thoughts away, as things got worse, they in turn became louder. Loud enough that they finally broke through and hurt Adora in a way Glimmer has never seen before. Being so close to losing her today, any anger she might still have is gone. The second Adora wakes up, she will apologize for everything. Tell her how much she realized what she said was shitty and horrible. 

And how much she means to her and why she acted like she did, fearing her loss like everyone else. 

Only the gods know how long time has passed when a healer enters the room. Glimmer stops in her tracks and quickly is inches away from them, grabbing a hold of their cloaks in desperation for answers. “How is she?!?”

The healer doesn’t miss a beat. They carefully push their queen off of them and place both of their hands on her shoulders. “She has no physical injuries and is perfectly healthy. She did finally wake up while we were examining her but-”

Glimmer does not stick around to hear what else they have to say. The second the words ‘wake up’ enter her mind she teleports herself into the infirmary, not caring what anyone will say. Inside, she finds Adora sitting on a lone bed, fiddling with the bed sheets with her hands. A gasp that escapes the queen’s mouth catches the blonde’s attention. She turns her head around. 

“Oh, hi there,” Adora says matter-of-factly, raising one of her hands. “What are you doing here?”

Glimmer rushes to her side and throws herself on Adora, holding her tight in her arms. “I’m so glad you are alright, Adora! I was so scared I lost you. I’m so sorry for _everything!_ I’m so sorry. I can't believe you are okay.”

Her body begins trembling and she can feel all the tears she held back before about to burst out. But she feels Adora place her hands on her chest and push her away, creating a gap between them. At first Glimmer thinks maybe the hug was too much, too sudden. After all, she can’t remember the last time they were this physically close to each other. But that thought quickly is wiped from her mind when she sees the bewilderment look on Adora’s face. 

“Adora, what’s wrong?” Glimmer asks. 

“Everyone who has seen me so far keeps calling me that. Is that really my name?” Adora says. 

“What…”

“Who are you?”

In an instant, everything becomes still. Glimmer feels her whole body go numb, every ounce of hope and joy she just had draining out of her. Her heart drops inside of her chest as her stomach twists so hard it makes her feel sick. Her world already was broken and cracked but now those three words have shattered it into a million pieces. She wasn’t fast enough to reach her and Shadow Weaver. She didn’t think quick enough about what to do or where to move. 

Glimmer _didn’t_ make it in time. 

The next thing she knows she is lying in a soft bed, staring up at the white ceiling. She blinks, wondering what just happened. When she moves ever so slightly, her body betrays her. Pain explodes from her head, feeling like someone is trying to crack it open. Glimmer grips the side of her head, in some hope of alleviating her suffering. The bright lights above aggravates her, she squeezes her eyes shut. Fuck, what is going on. 

“You’re awake!” a voice rings in her ears.

“Please...don’t...shout,” Glimmer manages to get out. She lets a moment pass her before daring to crack open an eye. This time the light doesn’t bother her, though her head still feels like someone wants to crush it. It helps that someone is blocking part of it from her line of sight. “Bow?”

“Sorry. I'm just so happy you are okay. You scared me half to death! First Adora and then you.”

“ADORA!” Glimmer snaps to attention. Bad idea. Shock waves of pain roll through her body and everything begins to spin out of control, causing everything to blur into one color and object. Her body suddenly feels light and that it is falling through the air. Before she can hit anything, she feels something warm wrap around her body. Slowly, everything comes back into focus. She realizes she is in Bow’s arms. 

“Careful! You don’t need another concussion,” he tells her. 

“I want to sit up.”

“Okay.” 

Bow steadies her. Once she is in a position that won’t result in her tipping over he hands her a glass of water. Glimmer happily takes it, sipping down about half it before setting it down on the table. The throbbing in her head eases and now only feels like a hat that is too snug on her head. Not wanting to hurt herself more with thinking she asks, “What happened?”

Bow sits down on a nearby chair, staying silent for the longest time before speaking. “We were waiting outside the infirmary to hear how Adora was doing. When the healer came out before they could finish their sentence, you teleported inside. They told me what happened and we ran inside, knowing what you were about to discover. By the time we got inside you backing away from Adora and then you just hit the ground.”

“I...She…” Glimmer’s throat starts to tighten. It is near impossible to swallow the lump that sits there as well. Words are hard to find. “She forgot. She didn’t know her name...or me...I-I-I failed her!”

Glimmer burst into tears. She buries her face into her hands, muffling her cries. How many seconds did she waste that could have prevented this or at the very least, retained something in Adora’s mind? Maybe if she hadn’t fought with her again, Adora would never have been near Shadow Weaver. Or maybe if Glimmer never let the witch roam around the halls freely, this all could have been prevented. So many ‘what-ifs’. So many things she could have done but didn’t.

“Shh, shh. Don’t blame yourself. You did everything you could!” Bow pulls her into a hug, holding her shaking body. “You still stopped Shadow Weaver from taking her away or doing who knows what. Adora is still safe and sound. And do you want to know something?”

Glimmer slowly lifts her head up. “What?”

“Adora was the first one to get to you when you passed out. Yeah, she was the closest but she looked so worried and scared, even if she was confused about what was happening. And then when someone came to take you into another room, I could have swore I saw her body twitching and her shielding you more.”

“What are you saying, Bow?”

“Whether she knows it or now, I think she might still be in there. She definitely didn’t want to let you go to people she didn’t know, if that makes sense.”

“Do...Do you think she will get any of her memories back?”

“Maybe. The healers said right now she needs time and they want to keep her under observation for a couple days. The same with you. They don’t know how hard you hit your head.”

“I’ll heal fast enough. No one needs to worry about me. Adora is more worrisome.”

“Try not to worry too much about that right now. It won’t help with your head injury. Rest.”

Glimmer sighs. She doesn’t want to sit around and do nothing while no one knows what will happen with Adora. But Bow is right. She is alive and well even if she can remember anything. And there are ways one can bring back memories, even if it takes time. Hopefully, everything can be restored. If there is any hope, Glimmer is going to need all the strength she can get. 

She doesn’t have anything else. Her body is already tired from crying and dealing with having a concussion. Bow helps her rest back down on her bed and tells her not to fall asleep and that he will be right back. Glimmer watches him leave. Once he is out of view, she lets herself think. Enough to start processing everything but not enough to give her a migraine. 

Shadow Weaver has succeeded in wiping Adora’s mind. Why? Who knows. When she is able to, Glimmer plans on interrogating the sorceress about it if any guards who try it don’t get any information. Part of her still wants to do so even if they do get something out of her. There is no way in hell she will ever let Shadow Weaver roam the halls free anymore. She won’t let her harm Adora. The mistake won’t happen again. At least she has the solace that Adora’s memories can be restored to her. 

_But what if they never come back?_

Glimmer shoos the thought away. There is no need for that. It was just magic after all. You should be able to undo that with magic, correct? Maybe her Aunt Castaspella can do something about it. She knows who Shadow Weaver was when she was in Mystacor and now her aunt is the top sorceress there. If anyone can fix what just happened, she can. The second Glimmer gets out of the infirmary, she will call her up and ask her to come to Brightmoon. But Bow is right about rest. The more she thinks, the more she can feel the aching growing. A headache will help no one. Hopefully between spells and her body’s own natural fast pace healing ability, she will be back on her feet and able to fix everything. She owns it to Adora to make things right.

* * *

Glimmer watches Adora look in awe as a sorcerer shows off his magic. She is surrounded by the children of Mystacor, as he is their master. He doesn’t seem to mind having an older teenager around. She is getting just as much enjoyment as everyone else. Glimmer wonders if she will start attempting to do magic despite the fact she has been told she can’t do it. At least she is enjoying herself. 

A few days have passed by since the mind wipe incident. Adora has been cleared of any other ailments and was told a number of things. Her name, Brightmoon, who Bow and Glimmer are, pieces of what happened to her, and a few details about the Horde. Her role in this war has been left out for the time being, not wanting to shock her system with a reveal. Everyone was told it more than likely is not a good idea to drop bombshells on her or it might become too much for her mind to handle. Bit by bit. Thankfully, the other princesses understand and everyone is working extra hard to keep the Horde at bay while She-ra is out of the picture. They lasted years without her anyway, what's some more time?

Glimmer herself has been cleared to go back to some relative normality. She is still not allowed to over exert herself and has to come back to check how her concussion is healing. She doesn’t like the idea of being told what to do and being powerless. At least she can keep an eye on Adora. That is something, right? Now that both of them are free to go about their days for most part, they have come to Mystacor seeking answers from Castaspella. 

Adora has gotten nothing back. Sure, it hasn’t been a terribly long time since the event but everyone was hoping at least something would come back. No such luck. Even with the little bit she has been told, Adora carries around a piece of paper to help her remember as it seems her prior memory problems still are around. Which does cause a minor annoyance to Glimmer. 

“Hey! Shimmer!” Adora suddenly shouts, jogging over to her.

“Glimmer, Adora. Glimmer,” the queen sighs. 

“Damn it. I almost had it this time. Sorry.” Adora gently hits the side of her head. “I’ll get it eventually I swear.”

“Don’t worry about it. What’s up?”

“Have you’ve seen the spells these guys use? They are amazing! I wish I could do them.” 

Adora’s light, sky blue eyes are bright as she speaks and her smile goes from ear to ear. The reaction brings Glimmer back to when she first met the blonde. Back when they both were still enemies. She can never forget the look of joy on her face when she went to her first party and saw and tasted things for the very first time. Now Adora gets to experience that all over again in a way. She still is like a child and it makes Glimmer’s heart flutter in her chest. It has been a long time since she has seen her _this_ happy before. 

“Can you do any of it? You can do magic, right?” Adora asks. 

“Uh, yeah I can. Besides my princess magic I have been learning how to cast spells also. You want to see one?”

There are stars in Adora’s eyes now. “Yes!”

Glimmer takes a breath and shuts her eyes, thinking of a spell to use. She was advised not to do any strenuous spells. However, a small one should be fine right? Once she settles on one, Glimmer opens her eyes and draws out a rune with her fingers. She is just about to finish connecting the lines when a wave of nausea rolls over her and what feels like a hammer hits against her head. The spell is broken as she clutches the side of her head. It takes all of strength to keep herself on two feet. 

“Are you okay?!?” Adora asks. She reaches out and holds Glimmer steady. If her head wasn’t pounding, Glimmer would soak in the feeling of being held by the warrior princess again. 

“I’m fine. My body doesn’t want me doing any spells it seems. Stupid concussion.”

“How long did they say you will have it? You hit it really hard I thought it crack your skull for a moment”

“They just said a while. Healers and my own body can only do so much. Eventually it’ll go away.”

“Do you need me to do anything for you?”

Glimmer looks at her. Adora’s eyebrows are knitted with worry. A face long forgotten but greatly welcomed. Just seeing it makes Glimmer feel better. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine. We are here for you anyway. My aunt should be almost done with her class. We should go get going now.”

“Will you be okay leading the way?”

“I got us here didn’t I?” Glimmer stands up straight, trying to prove a point. “This will be nothing.”

Adora begins to chuckle, a small snort escaping her as she does so. For the first time in a long time, Glimmer feels herself genuinely smile. The sounds of Adora’s laughter fills her with warmth. It’s nice to see her so happy again and not worried about what is going on in the world. 

Happy, Glimmer leads Adora down the halls of Mystacor. The blonde trails behind the queen, staring in awe of the murals and decor of the castle. At one point, Glimmer has to grab her by the wrist so she doesn’t lose her down a hall or so she doesn’t bump into something. Adora still cannot peel her eyes away from everything around her. This all causes a delay in getting to Castaspella but Glimmer doesn’t mind it at all. 

The second the two enter the room Castaspella is in, the head sorceress pulls her niece into a tight hug, nearly suffocating her. “Oh, Glimmer. I am so glad you are okay!” she pulls away and starts checking over every inch of the young queen. “How are you feeling? Any headaches? How are you seeing? Any problems?”

“I’m fine Aunt Casta!” Glimmer pulls away, putting her hands up in defense. “I got here just fine, didn’t I? We are here for Adora, remember!” 

“You’re my only niece, I am going to make sure you are okay.” Castaspella turns her attention to Adora. Glimmer has let go of her and she stands off to the side, confused at the sight in front of her. She looks back at Glimmer. “So she remembers nothing at all?”

“Right. The healers said she was like a blank slate when she woke up. The only things they can say she remembers are like common knowledge. But her name, all the princesses, her past, the war, all of that is gone.”

“And you said it was Shadow Weaver who did this to her? Do you happen to know the spell that was used?”

Glimmer shakes her head. “No. I know she used it before when I got captured that one time but that’s about it. Can you do anything about it?”

“I can see what I can do. Does she know her name now?” 

“Yes.”

“Okay. Adora! Can you come here?”

Adora, having lost herself in looking at an artifact, snaps to attention. She quickly comes over, stopping next to Glimmer. “Yes, ma’am?”

“It’s wonderful to see you again, Adora. I know you don’t remember me, and I am sorry to hear about what happened to you, but we have met a few times before. My name is Castaspella and I am Glimmer’s aunt.”

“Aunt?”

“It means I am the sibling of one of her parents. Her father to be exact.”

“Ah!”

“I am here to help you. See if I can undo any of the loss you encounter. I can’t say for certain I can restore everything but I might be a help in the right direction. Will you let me help you?”

“I would appreciate it.”

“Okay. I promise this won’t hurt a bit.”

Castaspella mumbles something under her breath. Her hands start to glow a bright, soft blue. She reaches up and places her hands on Adora’s face. This causes the blonde to wince for a moment, her whole body becoming tense. In a moment, however, she sighs and shuts her eyes, her body relaxes. Both stand motionless for some time. Glimmer waits impatiently for any signs of good news. After what seems like an entirety, Castaspella pulls her hands away. Her face is flat. 

“Do you remember anything, Adora?” Glimmer asks. 

Adora clutches the side of her head, shaking it to clear out the rest of the fog from the spell. “N-No. I don’t. I can still only remember waking up in the infirmary as my first memory. Did it not work?”

Glimmer looks at her aunt. “What happened?”

“Adora, do you mind if I speak with Glimmer alone for a moment?” Castaspella asks. 

“Uh, okay.”

She leaves them alone, getting out of earshot and finding something to entertain herself. When she is out of sight, Glimmer turns to her aunt. “What happened? Why didn’t she remember anything?”

Castaspella bites her thumb, thinking about what to say. Fear begins to spread from the center of Glimmer’s chest to every inch of her body. “Aunt Casta! Please tell me you can do something about this! Please!”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I don’t know if I can,” Castaspella admits, her voice low. 

“What do you mean?!? I thought you were the top sorcerer here! You can’t do anything about it!” 

“Keep your voice down. Glimmer, this is dark magic we are talking about. A wicked and corrupt thing. It is one thing if this was your run of the mill magic but this magic...it’s meant to destroy and cause pain and suffering. And it has been days now. I tried to pull something out or see what I could do but I couldn’t find anything.”

“So are you saying...all of her memories are just... _gone?!?_ You can’t get them back?!?”

“I can’t, no. That is not to say they might not come back to her on their own or something might trigger a response in her mind, memories are fickle like that. As far as my magic goes, however, there is nothing I can do. I’m sorry.”

Something begins to boil inside of Glimmer. It’s hot and takes hold of her quickly. She becomes blind and she unleashes a blast of energy at a wall. It explodes on impact. 

A hand is placed on her shoulder. “Glimmer. Easy. Take a breath.” her aunt softly speaks into her ear. 

She tries. She knows she needs to calm down but she can’t. How can she? Adora has no memories at all, neither good nor bad. She might never remember anything that happened to her. Those moments together, sleepovers, cooking together, fighting side by side, and even their spats and disagreements, possibly lost forever. Who is someone without those moments? Is Adora going to be the same person or someone that Glimmer cannot recognize.

Rapid footsteps fill the air. Glimmer snaps her head up in time to see Adora reentering the room, almost out of breath. “What happened? I heard a loud noise! Is everything okay?”

There is concern writing all over her face. Despite not having a clue about anything, Adora still has raced to Glimmer twice when something has happened, worried for her. Maybe it's just instinct to do so, reach out and help someone you barely know. Or maybe Adora’s caring nature still is intact despite everything else not being so. Finally, Glimmer sighs and eases her tense body. 

“It’s fine. I just lost it for a moment,” Glimmer tells her.

“Lost it?”

“I’ll explain later, Adora. How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay.” She steps in further, drawing close to niece and aunt. “Are you sure you are okay? You look tense.”

“It’s alright. Trust me. How about we go see some more magic being used before we leave. Does that sound good?”

Adora looks at her before looking at Castaspella and then back at Glimmer, nodding. Glimmer leads the way out of the room, not saying anything else. She does not get far, however, when fingers wrap tightly around her wrist. She stops in her tracks but doesn’t bother to turn around to see the owner. 

“You know I know, right?” Adora says. “I might not be able to remember but I am not stupid. Least, I hope I am not stupid.”

“No, Adora. You’re aren’t," Glimmer replies. 

“The second I couldn’t recall anything, I knew there was nothing that could be done. Not after you told me how powerful your aunt is.”

“You’re not upset? Or angry about it?”

“I don’t know what to feel. I guess I feel both. But, there still is hope, right? After all, the healers said they could just come back on their own! There has to be a way to fix this, right? We can fix it!”

_We can fix it!_

The words ring in her head as the memory of the day she blamed Adora for everything wrong in the world plays back like a horror movie. The look of pain still haunts her in her dreams. She won’t repeat the same mistake twice. Slowly, Glimmer looks over her shoulder. Adora has the softest smile on her face. Her eyes are warm, welcoming, and full of determination. The same eyes she always has had and Glimmer has grown fond of. 

“Right. Right! We’ll fix this, Adora. Together.”

* * *

That night, sleep becomes an elusive creature to Glimmer. No matter how hard she chases it, it escapes before she even become _close_ to catching it. A slippery little bastard. She quickly grows tired of the game of cat and mouse and decides it best to just sit up on her bed and think. It is all she has been doing since arriving home from Mystacor. 

Adora might never get her memories back. There is a chance of that. A bitter, _bitter_ pill to swallow. It comes at a horrible time when the world needs She-ra to defend itself. But that began to pose a question inside the queen’s mind. Should her past be restored to her?

It’s a stupid and horrible question to think about. Everyone should know about their past and who they were and where they came from. Adora herself seeks answers about who her birth family was and more about the First Ones, her people. It would be cruel to deny Adora that right and she has no authority over Adora’s autonomy. It’s something the former Horde soldier only recently got control over and still struggled with up to the point of her memory loss. But there are two sides to every coin. 

Without those memories, Adora is freed of a burden that has weighed her down all her life. Without knowing about the abuse Shadow Weaver put her through, without recalling she is She-ra and everyone looks up to her to fix and save the world, she is free to do whatever she feels like. Adora doesn’t have to worry what others think because that is not ingrained in her anymore, at least Glimmer believes. This is the happiest she has seen her friend in ages, why should that be denied to her. For the first time in Adora’s life, she could finally do whatever she wants because she doesn’t know what everyone wants. 

She can finally just be a person, free of a “density” thrust upon her with no warning at all. 

Glimmer groans and runs a hand through her hair. She knows this is a terrible to think about but yet, it still shouts in her mind. Adora has nearly ran herself into the ground trying to protect others. How many times has she found Adora in one of her stressed out moments, lying face first on the ground and having heavy bags under her eyes. That is not a lifestyle anyone should lead. 

Maybe she can hold it off, the memories coming back. If they do at all. She already isn’t allowed to tell anything major in fear of it overwhelming Adora’s mind so what’s the harm in not saying little things that could lead to big things. Just...give her the chance to lead a relatively normal life for once? That is a good in between, right?

It still leaves a bad taste in her mouth. Possibly lying to Adora and keeping the truth from her. One hell of a friend she is! But she cares so much for her, dare she says she loves her, that she just wants to see her happy and smiling. But at what cost is she willing to do that?

Glimmer doesn’t want to think about it anymore. She is about to flop back down on her bed when there is a knock on her door. Confused, she gets out of bed and heads to open the door. Who is knocking this late at night?

“Hi,” Adora says when the door fully opens. 

“Hey. What are you doing up?” Glimmer asks.

“I can ask you the same thing.”

“I am a night owl. You aren’t. Is everything okay?”

Adora starts to rub the back of her head. “Yeah. Everything is fine. I just was, uh, checking up on you.”

“Oh? You don’t have to worry about me, Adora. I told you that.”

“I know. I just can’t help it. But I am glad you are fine. I guess I should go…”

She starts to walk away. Glimmer quickly stops her. “Adora, wait!”

“Yes?”

“Did you come here to check on me or was there something else to it?”

Adora pauses for a moment. “What do you mean?”

“Can you sleep? Or, how well have you been sleeping?”

“I mean fine I think? It takes me a while sometimes to fall asleep, something feels off half the time but I just chalk that up to everything going on. Did I always have trouble sleeping?”

“Sort of. You...You like to either have some white noise going on or to have someone with you. You came to me a lot for that.”

“Oh! Really? Makes sense I guess.”

Glimmer chews on her lip for a moment, debating what she should ask. Finally, she says, “Would you like to stay the night? See if that helps?”

“Sure. If that’s alright with you.”

Glimmer gestures for her to enter. Adora does so and the two crawl into bed together like old times. Having a second being in her bed fills Glimmer with a sense of warmth and security she hasn’t felt in a long time. She forgot what that felt like. Adora quickly makes herself comfortable, unknowingly sitting in the exact spot she always has slept in. 

“Your bed is really comfy,” Adora tells her. 

“Is your bed okay? You don’t mind the firm ones,” Glimmer replies. 

“It’s fine. This one is just as nice.”

“Glad to hear...Hey. Can I ask a question?”

“Hm?”

“Are you happy? Like...I know it sucks not to remember anything but you seem to be holding up well. Is that just a facade or are you doing okay?”

Adora pulls her knees to her chest, gently holding them as she rests her chin on top. She tucks some of her loose hair behind an ear before speaking. “I’m as happy as I can be. I know I might not get everything back or even anything at all. That last part scares me. But everyone seems so willing to help me remember and even if I can never recall them, I do have everyone to tell me what they can, right? So, I guess I am alright. Just hoping for the best really. Why?”

“Just wondering. Now go to bed. We have a long day tomorrow and you don’t normally stay up this late.”

Adora yawns and shuts her eyes, giving no protest at all as she lays down. Glimmer stays awake, however, watching the blonde quickly slip into a peaceful slumber. Even before, whenever Adora came for a companion to sleep with, it still took her some time to slip unconscious. Still, half the time she would begin tossing and turning or mumbling in her sleep about whatever nightmare plagued her. Now, there is nothing. She looks so peaceful for once.

Watching her sleep, Glimmer wonders how she will ever be able to bring herself to return all the pain and suffering Adora has endured all her life back to her. She doesn’t deserve it. She deserves happiness and a sense of calm and peace after everything. After how much she has tried to save the world, she deserves all of it. 

Adora sleeping soundly for once is the only comfort Glimmer can find as sleep completely escapes her grasp and runs off, never to be caught. 


	2. Blocked

“Alright, anything with this?” Bow asks. He flicks through his communication pad before turning it around to show the image on the screen. Adora stares at the device, head slightly tilted, as she attempts to recall any ounce of her memories. The image that she looks at is of her, Bow, and Glimmer at one of the villages from a time that seems long ago. The trio is enjoying themselves at a small festival there. Bow stands in the middle, both his arms swung around his best friend’s necks and pulling them all close together. Everyone has a wide and bright smile on their face. 

Glimmer watches from a few feet away, hoping that this does Adora some good. It has been a few days since visiting Mystacor and finding out magic will do little to no good for Adora’s mind. Despite that news, no one has given up trying to return the memories. Bow has been doing a lot to try and get something to work. Photos of their travels, tales of what they did, or attempting to make her smell or taste something that could awaken something in her. However, there has been little progress. Castaspella sure was right about memories being fickle. At most, Adora says she might get a feeling out of it or the sense of something trying to form but she says it never stays long enough for her to focus on it. 

If anything at least that is a sliver of hope. Now they just got to get something to stay in her mind.

After some moments of trying to pull something out of her mind, Adora shrugs and sighs, “No. I’m sorry, Bow. Nothing.”

“Aw man, really?” his face falls and his shoulders droop. “Not even a little?”

“No. It looks like a happy moment. Is it?”

“Yeah, it is. We all went here after a bat-” he stops when Glimmer catches his attention. Standing behind Adora, she can’t see her creating a cutting motion with her hand near her neck. He quickly corrects himself. “Bad day. Yeah. It just was one of those days that got one of us down so we headed here to cheer up.”

“It looked like it worked.”

“Sure did! Maybe we can take you back sometime and see if that makes something get going in your brain.”

“Thanks, Bow.” Adora smiles softly but holds herself and looks down at the ground. "I just wish I could remember something or keep it in my head."

Bow places a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll all figure this out. Don’t worry about it. It just will take time. Right, Glimmer?”

Adora turns her attention to the queen. Glimmer feels some invisible knife stabs her in her heart. She can see a glint of sadness in her eyes. It hurts to see her like this. “We’ll get through this, together. And we used to do old tricks to help you with remembering this before. We can try that again." 

Adora’s eyes become soft and her smile grows. For a moment, Glimmer feels warm inside but that is broken when suddenly one of their stomachs growls. A chuckle escapes everyone and the trio figure it is best to grab a bite to eat. They head out towards the dining hall. Their walk is filled with the three chatting and laughing. To Glimmer, it reminds her of the good old days before the war wrapped its dark tendrils around everyone. The knife twists inside of her. 

When they reach the hall, Adora breaks off and heads out in front of them. Glimmer is about to go off in her own direction when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She flinches slightly, not expecting it, and turns her head around to see who has stopped her. 

“Bow?” she says. 

“You know you have to tell her things eventually,” he says. 

“And you know what happened before that picture. How do you think she’ll feel? Or what would you have done if she asked about it. We still don’t know what telling certain things will do to her.”

Glimmer’s mind travels back to the past. Many months ago. After the major win of the Battle of Brightmoon and before all these losses occurring made everyone numb, there was another battle. It became a major failure and everyone felt the effects hard but none so as much as Adora. The former soldier did not sleep for days afterwards, beat the ever loving fuck out of herself for failing to protect people, and started to push herself _hard_ to become stronger. Bow did not lie when he told Adora they went to a village to bring spirits up. It was all for Adora to try and cheer her up. Thankfully, it worked for the most part. 

“We still can’t keep the truth from her. Even if she doesn’t remember, she will find it out one way or another. And the second she does, you know she will want to go back out into the battlefield. Maybe even before that.”

Glimmer bites the bottom of her lip. Any harder and she’ll be tasting iron. “We have to ease her into it.”

“Hey! What are you guys doing?” Adora’s voice carries through the room. Both Bow and Glimmer look in its direction and see the blonde waving them over to the other side. 

“We’re coming, Adora! Just give us a sec!” Glimmer shouts. She looks back at her best friend. “We’ll do it eventually.”

“I care about her also, Glimmer. And I know you want what’s best but we have to make sure we do what makes her happy.”

“That is what I am trying to do.” Glimmer rips her shoulder away from Bow and heads over to Adora.

* * *

Glimmer stares down at the map laid out in front of her. A select part of Etheria looks back at her, littered with indications of where the Horde has its strong, icy grasp on. With a wave of her hand, she replaces a handful of them with the winged symbol of the Rebellion. It feels good to do that again. Least some things are starting to look up in Brightmoon. With the absence of She-ra, everyone is working harder to make up for it. And with Double Trouble “locked” away (they still are in a makeshift prison somewhere in the castle) and not spying on anyone anymore helps out a lot also. They still won’t tell anyone anything about what they have done with the Horde but that is the least of Glimmer’s worries. 

Shadow Weaver is in a much better “prison” than Double Trouble. More guards and more spells to keep her in place. She is not allowed to be left alone for a moment. Glimmer has yet to see the witch that harmed Adora all throughout her childhood and now has stolen her memories from her. She plans on it but just hasn’t worked it in her schedule quite yet, more worried about how Adora is faring. From what the guards have told her, Shadow Weaver’s lips have stayed sealed. Maybe tomorrow she will go see her and attempt to get something out of her. 

Glimmer starts to rub the side of her head. Thanks to her natural healing abilities, a gift from the gods for being half immortal, the concussion has become less of a bother. It still gives her headaches, dizziness, and she still cannot overexert herself with her powers or spells. At least she has been cleared to going back to helping out behind the scenes. She loathes the idea of staying inside the castle walls but pushing herself too hard will help no one. Just looking at the map she can feel a vice grip returning. 

She finally turns off the map, trying to give herself a break. Thankfully, she has a snack with her. Perfuma stopped by not long ago to see how everything was going and left her with some fruits from Plumeria to enjoy. Glimmer absolutely loves them. The other princess has also left a red flower to bring a smile to her face. She owes her one. 

There is a knock on the door. “Come in!” Glimmer shouts after swallowing her food. 

The doors to the war room open and Adora appears. “There you are! I was looking all over for you.” She enters the room and looks around. “What is this place?”

“It’s like the meeting hall. War room? Great Hall? Call it whatever you want, it’s where I spend half my time trying to figure out what the hell to do.”

Adora takes a seat besides her, failing to realize it is the same one she first sat in her first time here. “I almost forgot about that, the war. You guys only told me so much about it.”

“It’s nothing you should worry about right now. We are handling it just fine.”

“I can help you know. Are you sure about handling everything just fine?”

Glimmer knows what she means. She resists the urge to rub her eyes and yawn. “Yeah, I am sure. Hey, you want some of these?” Glimmer slides the bag of fruit to Adora. 

“Where are these from?” Adora asks. She starts to pop the food in her mouth. The second one enters her mouth, her eyes go bright. It doesn’t take long for her to start digging in.

“Plumeria,” Glimmer holds back a chuckle. “We actually visited a lot to see the princess there. You had a lot of fun whenever we went and you loved hanging out with the princess there. And hey, save some for me!” She grabs a handful of fruit before Adora wolfs it all down. 

“Ah man! These taste amazing! I have to ask for more from Perfuma.”

Glimmer starts to choke. She coughs and hits her chest with a fist, trying to dislodge the food caught in her throat. Adora is quick to aid her. Thankful, she is able to breath again even if she gasps and wheezes. 

“What the hell was that about?!?” Adora exclaims, rubbing Glimmer’s back. 

“What...What did you s-say?” Glimmer somehow manages to get out. 

“I don’t know?”

“What _name_ did you just say, Adora!”

“Uh...I think it was...Perfuma? How did I know that name? Who is that?”

“That is the Princess of Plumeria! As far I know, no one ever told you who that was! What the fuck? How did you know what?!”

“I-I don’t know. It just came to me after you said where the food was from. I,” Adora cups the side of her head, “I don’t know anything else. That name just came to me.”

She turns her attention to the table, staring at the red flower. Adora reaches out and takes it in her hand. Glimmer can see gears turning in her head as she looks at it. Something must be attempting to dig its way out of whatever blocks her mind. Whatever it is, either it does not break free or she says nothing as she places the plant back down. 

“Are you okay, Adora?” Glimmer asks. She places a hand on her shoulders. 

“The flower just made my head hurt, I don’t know why,” Adora replies. 

“Don’t think too hard. It’s bad enough I get headaches, we don’t need both of us suffering from it. But at least you finally remembered something! That’s a good sign!”

Glimmer feels some joy finally returning to her body. It might seem like a small achievement to remember someone’s name but considering the fact this is the first major thing that has come back to her and she is able to keep it in her mind, it is a giant leap in getting some things back. 

“Yeah, you’re right, Glimmer...Anyway I came here to grab you. Someone wanted to see you...I forget their name, damn it.”

 _At least some things don’t change._ “Well if you remember what they look like or where they were, tell me and lead the way.”

Adora nods and does as she is told and starts to guide Glimmer out of the room. As the queen passes the table, she takes one more look at the flower given to her, wondering what it started to trigger in Adora’s mind.

The pair begin to walk down the huge halls of Brightmoon. They pass the walls painted with those long since passed. Glimmer pays no attention to it, having walked this route maybe times before. It is the quickest way to get to their destination, which Glimmer only knows a vague idea of at the moment. She now is ahead of Adora, who has slowed down to look at everything and take it all in. Glimmer has no idea if the blonde had been down here yet, seeing how vast the castle is. As long as she hears the footsteps behind her, all is good. However, that does not last long. 

“Hey, Glimmer?” Adora asks. 

Glimmer stops in her tracks and turns around. “What’s up?”

She quickly realizes what has stopped Adora in her tracks. She stares up at the most recent mural. Glimmer feels a pang of sadness hit her chest. 

“Who is this?” Adora asks. 

Glimmer closes the gap between them and looks up. The image of Angella, one of Brightmoon’s longest and greatest leaders, stares down at them. She stands proud, wings outstretched, and her hand holding a sparkle of light. Even with her face lacking detail, Glimmer can feel the portrait watching every movement she does. There have been many nights, far too many for her to keep count, where Glimmer has just stood here, saying nothing and wondering about everything. Keeping her gaze away from Adora, she places a hand on the cold marble before answering. “My mother. The queen before me.”

“What was she like?”

Glimmer feels her mouth twitch. “Amazing. Wonderful. She always was trying to be a good queen and mother. I miss her a lot. I said some really shitty things to her before she died. I wish I could take them back. I loved her and I know she loved me and meant well. She loved you also.”

Glimmer trails off in her thoughts. So many mistakes have been made. If she was given all the magic in the world, she would turn back the clocks and take everything back. However, that will never happen in a million years. The mistakes she has made she must live with and learn never to do again. Too bad she didn’t learn fast enough how not to say something she’ll regret to someone she loves. The world just loves to take people away from her when she does that and does so in a cruel irony. Those last words Glimmer spoke to Adora now echo in her mind. 

_Why they hell did you do that! Didn’t I say not too? Or what, did you_ **_forget?!?_ **

Her hand now is a fist and her sight has become misty. She wonders why she keeps saying the wrong things and fucking everything up.

“G-Glim?”

Glimmer snaps out of her thoughts, remembering that she isn’t alone. She wipes away the tears in her eyes before turning her head around to look at Adora. “What’s up Ad-”

Any words that she was about to speak disappear the second her eyes land on Adora. The blonde has tears streaming down her face, staining her cheeks. There is a horrified expression written all over her, one mixed with hurt and sadness. The last time she has seen Adora like this was not so long ago when she blamed her for Angella’s death. Now, there is confusion and a hint of fright written on her face. 

“W-Why am I crying?” Adora gasps. She attempts to wipe away the water following down her face but they refuse to slow down. Her breathing becomes rapid and jagged and Glimmer can see her body begin the starts of twitching. “What’s happening to me?”

“Adora!” Glimmer reaches out for her but is brought back when Adora flinches, taking a step away. She pauses for a second before trying again. This time, Adora lets herself crumble into her arms, her legs giving out, unable to hold back her sobs or shaking. 

“Why...W-What is h-happening. I don’t...I don’t want to…” Adora reaches up and clutches the side of her head, almost in pain. “Why am I crying?”

Glimmer wraps her arms around Adora as tight as possible, wishing to take away the pain inside of her and having it all herself. What does she even say? Does she tell her that Angella sacrificed herself so Adora did not have to die? Would that just make everything worse and risk overloading her already racing mind? Should she only tell her half the story and give her some comfort and answer? Glimmer has no idea what to do. Her own vision has become misty once more as she struggles to keep everything together for Adora. 

Swallowing a hard lump in her throat, Glimmer takes a breath. “It...It was a hard loss for everyone. She...She died saving the world. No one thought she’d never come back...I’m so sorry. Just let it out.”

Adora buries her face into Glimmer’s chest, unable to say anything else. Her hands find the queen's back and grip the fabric tight. Glimmer does not speak either. This is one of the many things she was worried about in attempts to restore her memories. She shouldn’t have brought her down this hall, what was she even thinking? That does not matter right now, however. Adora still shakes in her arm. She refuses to let go. 

Adora’s cries slowly turn into hiccups and her body becomes steady, only twitching every few moments. Glimmer does not release her grip until the blonde herself pushes herself away. Adora straightens herself out and uses the sleeve of her shirt to wipe her face. Tears still fall from her eyes but they have slowed considerably. She looks up at the mural, silent. 

“Are you feeling better?” Glimmer asks after some time has passed. She hovers a hand over Adora’s shoulder for a moment before placing it down. 

“I don’t know...It...it hurts to look at her,” Adora answers in a quiet voice. “Did...Did the Horde I keep hearing about cause her death? Why...Why do I feel like I did something wrong”

“The Horde was the reason for her death, yes. But...you did nothing wrong.”

“Why does it still feel like it?”

Glimmer sighs. “Don’t worry about it, Adora. Trust me, you didn’t play a part in it. I guess you didn’t remember anything then?”

Adora shakes her head. “Nothing. Not a single thing.”

Glimmer sees Adora’s hands have become fist. She squeezes her shoulder. “I don’t think we should stay here any longer.”

Adora doesn’t say anything. She keeps her eyes on the wall for another moment before pulling looking away. For a brief moment before Adora pulls herself away, Glimmer swears she sees a flash of anger in her blue eyes. It is gone before she can fully make it out. Taking a breath to gather her thoughts one more, Glimmer begins to follow Adora down the hall.

* * *

Glimmer debates if what she is doing is a good idea or not. Part of her tells her that she is not mentally ready to do this, there already is too much on her plate but the other half screams fuck it! She already is running on a few hours sleep so why does it matter? A few moments pass before she finally decides on what to do. Glimmer walks towards the doors at the end of the hall and orders the guards to let her in. There is a moment’s hesitation before they do as they are told. 

The new makeshift prison is smaller than what was used before. There are at least three spells surrounding the sorceress, which creates the only light in the room. Ropes bound Shadow Weaver’s wrist together. There is nothing but cold, marble ground for her to sit on. Glimmer stops where the spell ends and stares down at her father’s former master and Adora’s technical mother. 

“I was wondering when you’d should up,” Shadow Weaver says, her voice cool. “To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing her royal highness.”

Glimmer does not answer right away. Every part of her being is telling her to sock Shadow Weaver square in the jaw and knock her out again. So much hurt has been brought by her. She doesn’t even deserve to be in the castle at all, even if everyone made damn sure to make her accommodations far from pleasant. With a snap of her fingers, Glimmer could send her to Beast Island and let her rot there. But right now, she needs her. 

“You are going to answer my questions,” Glimmer states, feeling a growl tickle the back of her throat. She holds it back, not wanting anything used against her. 

“Then ask away, my dear. It is not like I can do much else.”

“What game are you playing? What the hell are you after?”

“What anyone wants. To become stronger. Isn’t that why you allowed me to be free before? So you yourself could gain the strength you wished to have.”

“If you think I will ever let you out again, you are dead wrong. Don’t even bother.” 

“Don’t tell me this is the only reason you are here is to ask me that. Tell me what you really came here for.”

Glimmer scoffs. “Fine. It’s not I want to keep hearing your voice. If you are talking about being stronger, why the hell did you do that? Where were you playing on taking Adora after it? Did you really think anyone would let you take her?”

“Oh, I had my plans. Life in Brightmoon has become quite the bore and I would rather stay on the winning side.”

Glimmer can swear she can hear the smile in her voice. “What does wiping Adora’s mind have anything to do with that?!? Were you planning on telling her lies and making her into you _puppet_?!?”

“I am not the only one who has kept the truth from her. Don’t throw blame around willy-nilly.”

“Bastard. Why can’t you leave Adora alone and stop ruining her life? Why do you have to keep fucking things up and hurting her?”

“I just want what’s best like any parent would want for their child.”

 _I’m two seconds away from killing her. “_ The _hell_ are you talking about?”

“She was in so much pain and suffering I had to do something. Wouldn’t you want to do the same? Though, it did not seem like you wanted that. I’m sure the whole castle heard your fight. Adora was so upset and sad, how couldn’t I do nothing?”

Glimmer feels her blood boiling hot inside of her. She opens her mouth, about to spat anything out, rage beginning to blind her, when the sounds of doors opening stops her. A guard quickly enters the room and is at their queen’s side in a moment. 

“I am sorry to interrupt, Your Highness. But we need you,” they say. 

“We aren’t done here,” Glimmer tells Shadow Weaver, giving her a glare. 

“I wouldn’t expect anything less. I’ll see you soon,” Shadow Weaver replies. 

Glimmer says nothing more as she leaves with the guard. They guide her out to the halls where they fill her in. Apparently the Horde has been spotted near a large village. Not only are people at risk but it is a key point in a supply line. Right now, they have yet to do anything but who knows when they will strike. The Rebellion has just started to win again, they can afford to lose. After some debate, and somehow avoiding giving herself a headache from stress and thought, Glimmer decides on keeping any eye on them. Send some scouts and others and be ready for an attack. 

The guard nods and disappears. Glimmer sighs and rubs her temples. She so definitely didn't need this. There is no time to go back and deal with Shadow Weaver at the moment. There will be another day for that type of torture. Off to checking out the map. She really wishes she could catch a damn break already. The war was already a hassle but Adora with her memory loss, a severe lack of sleep, and Shadow Weaver being Shadow Weaver, it is starting to wear her out. How her mind hasn’t imploded from everything going on, she has no idea other than seer dumb luck. Hopefully this is all over soon and she can finally have some piece of mind. 

In no time at all, Glimmer reaches the doors and pushes them open. She is shocked to find Adora is already standing by the table, her eyes locked onto the lit up map. The blonde fails to hear the queen entering, not turning an inch away. As Glimmer draws closer, she realizes what her sky blue eyes are staring at. The symbol of the Horde spins around on the table, showing where their new location is. With Adora lost in a trance like state, she gives her a gentle shake. 

“Huh?!? What?!?” Adora snaps out of her thoughts. She turns her head around and blinks, needing a moment to regain her surroundings. “You startled me, Glimmer.”

“Didn’t mean to. You look really lost in your thoughts. Everything alright?” Glimmer asks.She starts to rub Adora’s arm. 

“I’m fine, it’s nothing. I thought I was feeling something coming on but I guess not.” Adora then points to the map, her finger nearly touching the holographic symbol of her former family. “Is that the Horde? The other symbol is ours, right?”

“Correct. Nice one. That’s the Horde alright. We have been fighting them for a long time, ever since I was little.”

“Is there anything else I should know about them?” Adora touches the symbol, causing a distortion. She squints her eyes.

“Nothing you need to worry about at the moment. Why are you even in here anyway?”

“I heard that something was going on and it had to do something with them. I wanted to check it out and figured I’d come here. The map was already set up. My mind kind of went blank until you showed up.”

“I came here to check this out also.” Glimmer leans forward to get a better look at the map. Based on the scaling of the map, the Horde is only a couple miles away from the village. Hopefully they stay there long enough for the Rebellion to come up with some semblance of a plan. 

“So are we going to fight them or what?”

“Not yet. Attacking them is not the best idea right now. And neither of us have been cleared to do anything yet.”

Adora starts to pace up and down the side table. “But the Horde has so much! How can we not attack right now? Shouldn’t we go after them before they get enough of their own forces? And so what? The healers have found nothing else wrong with me! How come I can’t go fight?”

“It is not as simple as that. We can’t just rush in without a plan! Our forces are already spread thin as it is.”

“But isn’t there something we can do? Something _I_ can do? If I was with you guys before I must know how to fight!”

Glimmer runs a hand through her soft hair. Adora has never lost her stubbornness, did she? She inhales deeply, keeping herself grounded. “Adora. We have to think about it and not charge in and punch things. And I have no idea how much you might remember fighting. You might get yourself killed!”

“You still have to let me do something! Please! I can’t just sit around and do nothing! You said your mother died trying to save everyone, didn’t you? I keep thinking about it. I can’t get her out of my head. I don’t understand why I keep wanting to just burst into tears and curl up in bed and die...”

Glimmer watches Adora wipe away her face, her teeth gritted. She notices a fire starting to burn in her blue eyes. Adora continues. “I feel like I can’t be standing still. That I _have_ to do something. I can’t just sit here and do nothing!”

“Adora will you please just listen to me for once!”

Glimmer’s voice comes out louder than she expected. Both she and Adora are bought back by this. Neither say anything as they stare at each other in shock. Adora’s eyes have gone wide and there is a trembling in her hands. Glimmer swears to herself.

“Shit, Adora I didn’t mean to yell. It’s...just been really stressful lately,” she sighs and takes a moment to gather her thoughts. “Look. No one should be running off without thinking. But...I can promise you that the second we can, we’ll go and do something. I don’t want to be trapped in the castle either so hopefully by the time that comes, I can go with you. Just...take a breath and stay, please. I don’t want to lose anyone again, I need you here.”

Adora doesn’t speak right away. It looks like she is trying to remember something. She flops down on a seat when she says, “Okay. I won’t go anywhere. Just promise me you won’t leave me out of anything. I just want to help.”

“I promise, Adora. I promise.” Glimmer walks over to Adora and kneels down in front of her. She places a hand on her knee, rubbing her thumb slowing. “Do you want to see if we can come up with a plan together for when we can leave? I don’t know if I’ll get another headache thinking so your help would be nice.”

Adora’s smile warms Glimmer’s heart. “Yes. Thank you, Glimmer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look at me working and updating fics aksbgaksgjsa. So I still don't have a set amount of chapter I am just going along with what I can but rn in my head maybe this will have like 5ish chapters? since I still want it to be shorter but idk I am just saying this so yall have an idea how long it will be and once I have everything settled I will set the chapter thing to it. But either way I hope you're enjoying it and kudos and comments are much appreciated as always (seriosuly I need/want feedback with the comments)


	3. Raddled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took forever to write because I kept getting stuck, yet it rn is the longest fuckin chapter idk fam. Anyway, I did have a lot of help with chats and a couple of people on tumblr with reading this and helping me either get unstuck or just see if what i was doing was fine. Thank you all who did that cause lasfnsag it was a good amount this time around I can’t @ everyone. But ye, have fun with this chapter

Glimmer runs a hand over the cold, golden color metal of The Sword of Protection that sits on her lap, still trapped in the large bracelet form. It was removed from Adora’s arm during her examination, before she woke up, all those weeks ago. Any attempt to return it to its original shape has been futile. It only will respond to the blonde’s command and no one else’s. Hopefully, it likes this form that Adora has been using for a couple months now. It is anyone’s guess what day it will be reunited with its master. 

Glimmer is hesitant to tell Adora anything about She-ra. That is such a  _ huge  _ thing to attempt to remember. And if how she reacted to seeing the mural of Angella is anything to go off of, it probably is best to wait. The image of Adora’s frightened and heartbroken face, tears streaming out of her eyes like rivers, is seared into her mind. It haunts her every time she closes her eyes, even for the briefest of moments. There is no need for that type of pain again. No need to overload her brain and do gods know what damage to it. 

There is a moment she catches herself in the reflection of the turquoise runestone. Glimmer has definitely seen better days. Try as she might to keep it kempt, there are bits of hair strains she has missed sticking up and breaking uniform. She wonders when the last time it was she truly had a good night’s rest, seeing the bags under her eyes. The nights Adora curls up besides her helps a little but sleep has become blinking and suddenly a couple hours have passed. There is no sensation or feeling of slipping off into her dreams or any loosening of the twisted, knotted strains of dark negativity inside her chest. Without the warm body of the warrior near her, she might have created a rut in her room. 

Sighing, Glimmer reaches over to the drawer, sliding it open. She places the sword that has brought so much hope, peace, love, and now anguish, inside, hiding it away from the world. There will be a time for it to be returned to Adora but today is not that day. There are other things she must focus on. The passage of time has become nothing more of a blur but she knows today is the day her and Adora’s clearance is finalized. 

If Glimmer can make an estimate on how long it has been since the mind wipe, it has been about two weeks. Thank the gods nothing major has happened and the other princesses have been able to hold down the fort. From what she has been told, whispers are starting to form about where She-ra is. Some people are beginning to wonder if she has abandoned them or worse, been killed. There is no need for these to become rumors and spread. Morale can easily shatter or the Horde might think they have won the war if it reaches their ears. Maybe getting Adora out there, sans being the warrior princess, can slow or stop those whispers. Just seeing that she is still kicking even is she is unable to transform might be enough to keep spirits up. Glimmer will come up with some explanation for why Adora isn’t She-ra one way or another. 

In the back of her mind, she knows that will only do so much.

Glimmer looks up at the clock nearby. She didn’t realize how close it was to meeting Adora. She better get a move on before the blonde starts bouncing off the walls. Before she heads out, Glimmer pats down the bits of hair sticking up as best she can. There is not much she can do for everything else. Hoping that she looks decent, she exits her room and heads down to one of the sparring rooms. 

To no one’s surprise, Adora is already there, whacking a training dummy with a wooden pole and dressed in her training tank and shorts, her hair a slight mess. She has begun to break a sweat, making Glimmer wonder how long she has been at it. When she spots the queen entering, Adora gives the dummy one more good whack, nearly knocking it over. Happy, she stabs the ground with the pole and leans her weight on it. 

“Hey! I was wondering when you would get here,” Adora says, a crooked smile plastered on her face. 

“You sure are chipper,” Glimmer replies. 

“How can I not be? We finally can get out of the castle tomorrow! Isn’t that exciting?” 

“Trust me, I feel the same way. Why do you think I suggested training the day before? You ready to get your ass kicked?”

“Oh, bring it on Sparkle-butt,” a chuckle escapes Adora and there is a twinkle in her eyes. “I get to try out my new sword!”

Adora tosses the pole to Glimmer before running off to the other side of the room. Glimmer plays with the metal weapon in her hands. It is nothing like her father’s staff, she misses the weight of that, but for a temporary one it will do just fine. It will put the two on an even playing field, learning to adapt to a new weapon. Without the Sword of Protection, Adora has been given something new to defend herself with. 

The blonde returns with a sword in her hands. It is a run of the mill one, many of the guards in Brightmoon used this model. It will be interesting to see how Adora fairs with it. Tomorrow before the duo heads out, she will be given a new suit of armor to go along with the sword. No need for her to go out vulnerable to attack. Glimmer has no idea what it will look like as it has to be modeled to the blonde's lean frame. It will be exciting to see what battle ready Adora will look like.

“Ready?” Adora asks. She takes a stance, the sword held tightly in her hands. Glimmer simply nods and gets herself into battle position. A moment passes before either of them moves. 

Adora lunges first, prepared to strike at Glimmer. The queen quickly reacts, blocking the attack with the pole. Glimmer braces herself, Adora’s weight threatening to push her over. She stands her ground and uses all the force she can muster to shove the blonde haired warrior back. Before Adora can get her footing back, Glimmer charges. With a quick sweep to the back of the legs, Adora hits the ground with a hard thud.

“You are going to have to do a lot better than that to beat me,” Glimmer smirks, twirling the pole around in her hands. She then sticks out her hand to the fallen warrior. Adora grumbles something before taking the offer.

On her feet, Adora closes her eyes and takes a breath. Glimmer waits for her to give permission to return to the spar. She is aware the past couple days, Adora has been in here preparing to leave and be ready to fight. If she can’t keep up with the queen, it will not be a good sign. No need to have her being cleared to fight be all for not. When her eyes are open, Glimmer gets ready for round two. 

This time, Glimmer is the first to strike. If either of them wants to prove they are ready to fight, there can be no holding back. Adora is quick on her feet, quickly turning on her heels and dodging the attack. Glimmer has just enough time to once again block an attack from Adora.  _ Now we are talking,  _ the queen thinks to herself. Time to spice things up. 

When Adora attempts to strike again, Glimmer teleports away, leaving the blonde to stumble through the air. She quickly reappears behind her, ready to knock her to the floor once more. However, before she can land a hit, Adora snaps around and deflects the blow. Glimmer staggers on her feet when she gets pushed back. 

“Woah! Did I predict your teleportation?” Adora asks, her eyes wide. 

“Yeah, ya did.” Glimmer steadies herself out. She begins to wonder just how much of Adora’s body remembers. “You’re doing good! Still haven’t knocked me over. Are you all talk and no show?”

Adora sticks out her tongue, to which Glimmer returns the gesture. The queen starts to feel lighter at the tease. When was the last time they poked fun at each other? Far too long. 

The two quickly go back to their spar, trying to one up each other. The only magic Glimmer uses is the occasional teleport, half of which Adora times right. The other times she is nearly knocked to the ground again but remains on her feet each time. Both girls begin to tire, panting for air and sweat forming on their bodies. Neither wants to give up yet, both wanting the sweet taste of victory. 

Adora moves again, becoming like a blur. Glimmer shifts away as fast as she can, feeling the gust of air as the blonde passes her by. She attempts to strike at Adora before she can get her footing but it is not quick enough. Her own blow is deflected in a swift movement. Glimmer has barely enough time to block another attack. Adora does not let up. A third forceful strike finally knocks the queen off her feet. 

“Ha! I win!” Adora shouts. She throws a fist in the air. “I defeated the Queen of Brightmoon!”

“Show off,” Glimmer groans. She sits up after a moment. “If I actually used my magic you wouldn’t be showboating as much.” 

“I would love to go up against you with your magic. Sounds like a fun challenge.”

“Next time. The Horde doesn’t use much magic so you don’t need to worry about that. You did really good!”

“I guess I am natural, huh?”

“You can say that. And I don’t know about you, but I think I am beat. No need to wear ourselves out or push too hard the day before our first mission.”

Even with her concussion is said to be gone, there are moments Glimmer swears she can feel the ghost of it trying to cause her pain and confusion once more. It took her long enough to get back into a battle ready state. She refuses to stumble back and ruin all that progress. Glimmer also does not want to miss Adora’s first trip out of the castle. There is a lot of excitement to it and she wants to assure nothing goes wrong. This training was more than enough anyway. 

Adora sticks out her hand, which Glimmer happily takes. Brought to her feet, she brushes herself off and sets her weapon off to the side. There is still daylight left to burn. The two decide to see what else there is to do around the castle that does not involve breaking a sweat. 

The next day quickly comes and Glimmer finds herself waiting for Adora to exit her room so they can finally head off to the village. There is no need to rush, though, since the queen can teleport them there in a matter of milliseconds. Still, the sooner they left the better. Glimmer wonders what could be taking so long. Shouldn’t have Adora already picked out and be fitted with her armor? Whatever the case, part of her doesn’t mind. She shuts are eyes to squeeze in some sleep. 

The night before she was able to sleep a little bit better with Adora at her side but not by much. The enjoyment of sparing and having fun with the blonde again wore off by the time everything became dark. Funny how when the world becomes still, one’s mind starts to race. She still wonders if this is the best idea, to bring Adora back out when she still cannot recall much. As much as Glimmer wants to keep her safe, she knows she can’t keep Adora cooped up and prevent her from going back to some semblance of her old life. This will make her happy anyway and that gives the queen some peace of mind. She just hopes nothing happens that causes another overwhelming resurgence in Adora’s mind in the middle of a battle. 

“Glimmer, you doing alright?” Adora’s voice slips into her thoughts 

Glimmer’s eyes flutter open. The fog of sleep still hangs in her mind. Slowly, she turns her head towards the direction of the voice. In a moment, she snaps awake. Adora stands only a couple feet away from her. Her body is covered in a new suit of armor. It shines in the light, showing off the smooth, undamaged metal. While the one Glimmer dawns is silver, Adora’s is white and gold, reminiscent of the outfit of She-ra. It lacks the signature symbol on her chest, however. The sword she had been practicing with the past several days rests on her side, waiting to be pulled from its sheath. A helmet, matching in color as her armor, is tucked under her armpit. 

Glimmer cannot pull her eyes away from Adora. Only one word bounces around inside her head.  _ Stunning. _

“I, uh…” she takes a moment to process the question. “Yeah! I am. Don’t worry about me! What about you? You like what the blacksmith did?”

“Yeah! She was surprised with the colors I wanted since they are not that common but she managed to find enough for me.”

“What made you pick those colors?”

Adora shrugs. “I just was drawn to it. It was all I could think about when I got asked.”

“Well, you look really nice.”

Adora’s face turns a shade of red. With her free arm, she starts to rub the back of her head. “You look good also, Glim. Give yourself some credit.”

Glimmer starts to wonder if the room suddenly got warm. “Thank you, Adora.”

“Oh! Hey, if you are the queen and I am suited up and got a sword and I am going to fight alongside with you to help keep you safe if we are attacked, does that make me like your knight in shining armor?

And now Glimmer’s brain has left the building. She snaps her head away from Adora, feeling her whole face burning, and pushes herself off the wall. “I guess so. We need to get a move on. You aren’t forgetting anything?”

“Don’t think so, hope not.”

“Grab a hold of me.”

Glimmer expects her to place a hand on her shoulder or hold onto her arm. She is surprised, however, when she feels Adora’s fingers lace in between hers. Her breath gets caught in her throat. She slowly moves her gaze back on the blonde. Adora has her signature wide and bright smile on her face. There are stars in her eyes as she speaks. “Come on, let's get out of here. I can’t wait to see what teleportation is like.”

“Trust me you love it,” Glimmer tells her. She closes her eyes and begins thinking of the village. This will be the first major use of her powers and it will be the true test of her recovery. When the image is as clear as day in her head, she teleports. In a split second they are at the edge of the village. Glimmer opens her eyes and looks around. Her head feels fine and her sight is clear of any blurriness. Relief washes over her. 

Suddenly, all of Adora’s weight is thrown onto Glimmer. Strong arms wrap around her. “That was amazing! And you didn’t pass out! I’m so happy!”

“You have no idea how glad I am. Now please let go, we have to go see the village leader and see what they need.”

Adora nods and follows Glimmer to the center of the village. Many children run past them, laughing and shouting. One herd of seven year olds stop short as they walk by and look at the pair, trying to make sense of them. Glimmer hears faint whispers from the group, picking up on the words ‘queen’ and ‘she-ra’. She takes a quick glance at Adora. The blonde seems not to have heard anything, too lost in taking in everything around her. This might prove to be a difficult task. 

The two soon find the leader of the village. A middle aged woman, shorter than Glimmer, comes up to them and gives a small bow to the queen. “It is a pleasure to have you here,” she says. 

Glimmer returns the gesture, wanting to show the same respect to her elder. “We are happy to help. I see that the Horde still has not made a move yet.”

“It can come at any moment. Everyone is on edge. Are you two the only ones?”

“Another princess will be coming later this afternoon. For now, we are here to scout and see what we are up against.”

“I understand. Come with me.”

She leads them into a building in the center of the village. Some people are already inside. Everyone gathers around the table in the middle of the room. There is a map spread across it. Red markers are littered on the paper. Glimmer studies it. For the most part it matches the one back in Brightmoon. 

One of the people who already were in the building upon entering, Glimmer assumes they must be their top warrior, steps forward and begins talking about what is going on. The Horde lurks a few miles away. From what scouts have seen, only a handful of soldiers and machinery are around. Still more than enough to easily take out a village with only so many people who can fight. No one knows why they are biding their time but the quicker the Rebellion strikes the better. Adora listens intently to every word that is being spoken, eager to do anything that will help.

Glimmer promises that they will do their best and figure out anyway to help in any way they can. At some point, Adora finds out who the commander is and asks them to give her some tips and to see how they have been handling things. The commander is more than happy and leads her outside. This leaves the queen and the villager leader mostly alone to talk. Before coming here, most everyone was informed about what is happening with She-ra. 

“Are you still sure this is the best idea?” the village leader asks Glimmer. 

Glimmer runs a hand through her hair. “No but I have my hands tied with what I can and can’t say. Figuring that out has been hard. But coming here at least lets her help out. She still is an excellent fighter.”

“I do hope it is enough.”

“We have fought without She-ra before and Perfuma will be here soon. If we can catch the Horde by surprise, I am sure it will be enough to drive them off. I promise you that.”

Glimmer spends some more time studying the map, seeing if there is anything she might have missed on her own. When she doesn’t spot anything and feels like she has gathered enough information, she heads out of the building and locates Adora. Thankfully the blonde has not gotten far. The training area is close by and she catches her sweeping someone off their feet. 

The queen can’t help but chuckle at the sight. She strolls over to the warrior and tells her it is time to go. 

With a couple other villagers, they all begin walking to the outpost, being mindful of where they step. There is no need to leave any trace of their trek and let the Horde catch on to their spying. The closer they get, the quieter they become. One of the villagers takes the lead, leading them through the brush of the forest they find themselves in, careful not to step on any twigs. They stop at a ledge that overlooks where the Horde has settled down, lying down on the rocks.

As stated before, there are not a huge number of Horde soldiers. Maybe they have become spread thin with all the territory they have or they are getting cocky because they control so much and think they can keep winning. Either way, no one should take it lightly. The last thing anyone needs is fucking up and losing a supply chain and having more innocent lives under the cold and hard thumb of Hordak. Scanning the area, Glimmer can see there is not a lot of machinery either and some of the soldiers are not taking things too seriously. A number of them are just chatting away and not paying attention to their surroundings. 

“You think we can handle them?” Adora whispers.

“Maybe. We have dealt with worse. Perfuma will be a lot of help.” Glimmer turns her head to face her friend. She is surprised to find Adora has her eyes locked onto the Horde, barely blinking. She has begun to chew the bottom of her lip and with one hand, plays with a cuff of her armor. The queen gives the warrior a nudge with her elbow. 

“Hey, you alright?”

“It’s nothing. I promise. I-I just...there’s just something about them, their symbol,” Adora points towards the dark red flag flying high in the air, “I don’t know what about it makes me feel weird.”

“Weird how?”

“Uneasy? Upset? Angry? Makes me feel guilty, like I did something wrong.”

Glimmer frowns. “You did nothing wrong. The Horde are bad people and you are far from that.” She reaches out and places her hand on top of Adora’s, gently rubbing her thumb over it. 

“Thank you, Glim.”

“Anytime.” 

Glimmer does not remove her hand, giving Adora a little squeeze. She turns her attention back at the enemies. If they play their cards right and time everything perfectly, this should be easy enough. 

“What are you doing here?” a new voice says.

Well shit. 

Everyone snaps on their heads around to see two Horde soldiers with their guns pointed right at the group. Adora reacts first. She is on her feet in a matter of moments and strikes at the pair, nearly cutting their weapons in half. Glimmer herself quickly teleports and reappears behind one of them, hitting them in the head. The one left standing attempts to get a hit in somehow, firing off their weapon, but it is of no use. They are quickly knocked out. 

“Well that just gave us away,” Glimmer states, “No way they didn’t hear all that commotion.”

“We should tell the rest of the village. Hopefully Perfuma will get here before anything happens. We can still catch them off guard before it is too late,” Adora says.

“Right. Good idea.”

* * *

Glimmer finds herself alone, trying to find her targets. She, Adora, and Perfuma (who showed up shortly after getting back from the scouting mission) have all gone separate ways in hopes of cutting off the Horde and preventing them from over taking the village. Nip it in the bud now before they become overwhelming. If everything goes as planned, they can either find the others or regroup back at the village to give status reports. 

She hopes to get this over and done with quickly. Get another victory for the Rebellion under their belt and show to the Horde that they are not down for the count. And defending a major supply line, that will boost morale. Glimmer refuses to give up and allow for another loss. She also wants to prove to herself that she is no longer going to be on the sidelines. 

A noise breaks her train of thoughts. Glimmer ducks behind a tree, hoping that no one has spotted her. The noise grows louder. By the sounds of it, it is one person and it does not sound like they are wearing any armor. Curious, the queen slowly peers her head around from the tree. To her surprise, it is a familiar, though unwelcome, face. 

Catra. Someone who has risen through the ranks of the Horde and is practically leading it now. So much chaos and pain has been caused by her. Glimmer wonders if she is the reason Double Trouble slipped into the Rebellion’s ranks.  Thoughts swirl in her head. If the shapeshifter never caused all the strife, maybe she and Adora never would have fought. Maybe all those hateful words and horrible actions that occurred between them never would have happened. Maybe that last fight between them would not have played out and Adora wouldn’t have to start all over again. 

Glimmer shakes her head. She has to keep her mind focused right now. Taking out Catra and making her a prison would be one hell of a win. Inhaling deeply, she steps out from behind her hiding place, ready for a fight. “Hello, Catra.”

The magicat stops in her track, taken aback from seeing the queen. She quickly gets over it and a smirk forms on her face. “It’s been a while, Sparkles. Where were you? Hiding away in your castle? I thought you were braver than that,” Catra teases. 

Glimmer grits her teeth. “It doesn’t matter what I was doing. I’ve been itchy to fight again so seeing your ugly mug actually makes me happy for once.”

“I can say the same thing about you."

Catra lunges, coming at her with crawls aiming for her throat. Glimmer teleports before they can make contact. She reappears behind her, hands a bright pink. The queen fires a blast, hoping for a direct hit. However, the magicat is ready. Nimble on her feet, Catra quickly evades the energy beam. She bounces a few away before stopping, the smirk still on her face. 

“You are getting a little rusty there, Sparkles. Here I thought you’d be more of a challenge.”

“I am just warming up.”

Glimmer fires another blast. She is not surprised that Catra jumps out of the way and attempts to use this to her advantage. Blast after blast she throws until one of them finally clips her. Catra tumbles the next time her hands and feet land on the ground, somersaulting over herself. Dust kicks up all around her as she hits the ground. She scrambles to her feet before a blast can hit her. Even if she avoided that, Glimmer is glad she got something in and proves she still has it in her. 

Separated from the rest of the fighting, the two do their best to one up each other and gain the upper hand. Both refuse to give in. Glimmer fires her energy blast or teleports to try and land a punch. Catra bounces around, moving swiftly. There are a number of times her claws become dangerously close to ripping across the queen’s skin but they miss every time. They could go at this for hours if allowed no matter how tired they get, but they get cut off when rustling from the nearby brush catches their attention. Adora burst through, stunning both of them. 

“The fuck are you wearing, Adora?” are the first words out of Catra’s mouth upon seeing her former friend. 

Adora raises an eyebrow, her sword lowering slightly. Her sky blue eyes dart from Glimmer to Catra and then back to Glimmer. This is the worst possible time for Adora to show up out of the blue. Did she already handle her own enemies? Where the hell did her helmet go? Does she want another head injury?

“Do...Do I know you?” Adora asks. 

_ Shit! _

Catra’s dual colored eyes widen. Her ears and tail flick and her face falls. It looks like she just got slapped across the face. Glimmer’s mind races, not knowing what to do with the situation that she now finds herself in. Before any semblance of an idea can form, Catra begins laughing. It starts off slow and barely audible before growing. The cackle fills the forest air as she throws her head back. 

“Y-You’re fuckin’ joking, right? Did you...Did you hit your head or something or did you get more stupid?” Catra retorts. 

“What?” is all Adora can say. 

Before anyone can say anything else, Glimmer charges. The last thing she needs is Catra to mess with Adora’s mind or toy with her. She tackles the magicat with all her might, throwing them both to the ground and pinning her opponent under her. The queen attempts to knock her out with a blast but Catra has other plans. She manages to twist her body around and pull and arm free. In a swift and sudden movement, her claws dig into the left side of Glimmer's face, drawing blood. 

A shout escapes her and a hand instinctively shoots up to cup the hot pain spreading across her face. Catra uses this moment to force Glimmer off of her, pulling her feet out from under the queen and kicking her as hard as possible in the stomach. All the air is forced out of Glimmer’s lungs as she is thrown back.

There is nothing Glimmer can do other than gasp for air. She tries to stand and cut Catra off before she reaches Adora but her body full of pain and lack of oxygen refuses to stand. All she can muster is rolling over on her side. Her vision has become blurred with tears from the hit but she can clearly make out the brown and red form of Catra lunging at the white and gold form of Adora. 

Adora evades the attack, narrowly missing being scratched. Catra spins on her heels and throws a punch. The blonde throws up an arm and blocks it. Pushing the magicat off of her, she takes some steps back, creating a gap between them. 

“Did you honestly forget about me? What were you doing in those two weeks you were gone? I thought She-ra would be out playing hero but what? Did everyone in Brightmoon become a coward and hid away?” Catra shouts, her eyes burning. 

“What are you talking about? Who the hell is She-ra? I-” a groan cuts Adora off. She grips the side of her head. 

“You really don’t remember...do you?” Catra’s ear flicks again and her eyes become wide. “Oh, this is  _ great!”  _

Catra uses the moment of confusion and pain in Adora to throw all her weight against the warrior, knocking and pinning her to the ground. Glimmer watches as a sharp tooth smirk spreads across the magicat’s face. “What has Sparkles been telling you? How many lies and deceits have you been following? Surprised she isn’t still using you as bait when you are like this.  Though I guess with no memory she can do whatever with you so you don’t fail her again like with her mother.”

“Shut. Up!” Adora says through her teeth, Glimmer just barely making it out. 

_ Shit, shit, shit!  _ Glimmer uses all of her energy to force herself to her hand, coughing and wheezing. This isn’t good. She has to stop Catra before things get worse. She can’t let her get to Adora and use her for her own gain.

Catra’s voice is cool and steady. “Oh, caught a nerve! And I just remembered, unlike you, about Shadow Weaver. Is that where she is? I guess she finally decided she wanted her precious, favorite child back. Wonder how that went if you are here. You know I was wondering if you had just grown tired of the rebellion and abandoned them like you did with me. Though, if you come back with me, I could tell you everything that you’re not being told.”

“I said- _ SHUT UP!"  _ Adora cries out. 

It hurts Glimmer’s ears to hear the pain and anger in her voice. Fingers dig into the soil and all her thoughts become focused on getting Catra off of Adora. Her hands become bright balls of light and she unleashes a powerful blast of energy right at the magicat. So lost in her taunts, Catra fails to notice the oncoming attack. She is thrown off Adora and set into a tree. Somehow, the queen staggers to her feet, ready for another strike, and stumbles towards the blonde. Adora is still on the ground, curled up in a ball. 

“Stay away from her, Catra!” Glimmer shouts. 

“Have you been keeping She-ra from her? Is that why she isn’t her?” Catra questions, pulling herself to her feet. “First you use her as bait and then you pretty much lie to her? You really are full of surprises, Sparkles. They’d love you in the Horde.”

“Why you-”

Before she can finish, she hears the shifting of metal behind her. Both she and Catra look to see Adora getting to her feet. Her sword previously knocked out of her grip is now tightly held in her hands. Her eyes are locked onto Catra and her face is twisted in pain and anger. Glimmer hears a growl escape her as she takes a heavy step forward. 

“I told you to shut up!” 

“Heh. I only said the truth. But I will leave you two alone to talk things out. Have fun with her, Sparkles.” Catra grins before darting off into the woods. 

There is no time for a chase. When Adora takes another step, she stumbles. Glimmer is quick to catch her, breaking her fall to the ground. The blonde hair warrior attempts to get to her feet once more but they slip out from under her. A cry of pain escapes her, both hands now reaching up for her head. 

“What’s the matter, Adora?!? Are you okay?!?”

“My head...It feels like someone is trying to split it open. W-What the hell was she talking about? Gods I can’t remember, it hurts.”

There are tears beginning to form in her blue eyes. Unlike days before at the mural of Angella, they do not fall. She struggles to recall anything that must be playing out in her mind, causing her face to become twisted in more pain. Her body has begun to shake in Glimmer’s arms, who is once again at a loss at what to do. She remains speechless. A hand suddenly grips the collar of her armor. 

“Glim, please…” Adora begs. 

“Adora I-” Glimmer thinks for a moment what to do next. “I am going to take you back to the village. You need to calm down and we aren’t safe here.”

She says nothing more before thinking about her destination. She prays that elsewhere in the battlefield things are going smoothing and ditching everyone will not lead to a death sentence for anyone. Quickly enough, they are back inside the base of operation. To her surprise, Adora shoves Glimmer away, breaking free of her grip. The queen does not protest. Instead she gets to her feet and scrambles to peer her head outside to find any help. The first person she spots, thankfully, is Perfuma. She takes that as a good sign about elsewhere. 

Glimmer calls for the princess to come over. Perfuma does as she is told and is quickly told what is going on. Without missing a beat, she enters and is at Adora’s side in a matter of seconds. The darker haired blonde is curled back up and discarded her sword in favor of holding her head. Her body is still shaking and she has begun mumbling something Glimmer cannot make out. 

Perfuma is careful when approaching her friend. She gently places a hand on Adora, who jerks at the touch but relaxes upon seeing a familiar face. 

“It’s alright, Adora. You’re safe now. Why don’t Glimmer and I get you somewhere more comfortable. Would you like that?”

Adora meets Glimmer’s eyes for a moment, unsure, before locking back with Perfuma’s dark ones. She gives a small nod and allows for both the queen and princess to lift her to her feet. 

Together, the three find someone who brings them to a makeshift infirmary. A groan escapes the warrior princess, not pleased to be brought to such a place. She does not protest for long. Whatever is going on in her mind must not be letting just as she suddenly winces again, her eyes squeezing shut. 

Adora is helped onto a bed. Glimmer asks her if she wants either her or Perfuma around. The answer is a ‘no’ and that she wants to be left alone at the moment. The queen swallows a lump she didn’t realize had formed in her throat. Adora has her head in her hands now and she takes deep breaths, her body still trembles. Wishing not to leave but doing as asked, she leaves, hoping to come back when things have calmed down. Outside, Glimmer finds a random spot to sit in the grass, pulls her legs to her chest, and buries her face in them. 

She holds back her tears building up inside of her. Glimmer cannot get the image of Adora in pain out of her head. Both times this has happened, she has been powerless to do anything about. Each time she clammed up and couldn’t figure out what to say to her. At the mural, she was full of hurt and sadness, not understanding what was going on, and now that anger and the hate in her voice echoes in her mind. How can she ever tell Adora anything if her reactions can be so wildly different and cause her this much distress? Would it make it better if she knew?

“Glimmer?” she hears Perfuma say. Glimmer lifts her head to look at her friend. The flower princess takes a seat besides her and places a hand on her back before speaking again. “Are you holding up alright?”

“I honestly have no idea,” Glimmer sighs. “You saw how she was.”

“What happened?”

“Catra. She must have sparked something in her memory but it was too much. I wish I could’ve done something.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. I don’t think there is much you could have done.”

“I don’t know, Perfuma. I don’t know what I should and shouldn’t tell her or what will help or not. It seems so random when she can recall things or when her mind decides to overload herself. What would you do?”

She doesn’t answer right away. Glimmer feels Perfuma’s hand slowly run up and down her back as she thinks. “I don’t know either. But I think just being there for her will help. Give her some time to calm down and then go see her. Go from there.”

“Alright.”

Glimmer waits for some time to pass before seeing how Adora is doing. While she waits, she asks Perfuma about how things went. The princess tells her for the most part, the Horde has been driven back. Splitting up and separating their forces by doing so helped. This gives the queen some comfort. Afterwards, she decides to see how some of the villagers are doing. Upon hearing the news about victory being in their reach, spirits are high. When she feels like enough time has passed, about an hour, Glimmer heads back into the building.

Adora is lying down on the bed on her back, one arm hanging off the side and her other over her eyes. For a moment, she thinks the blonde is asleep but that is proven wrong when she uncovers her eyes. They are tired but welcoming. 

“Hey,” Adora says in a hush voice. 

“You mind if I come in?” Glimmer asks.

“No, it’s alright.” Adora sits up, giving room for the queen to sit down. Glimmer takes her spot next to her.

“I guess you are feeling better?”

“Yes. Just drained.”

“That is understandable…”

Silence falls between them. A once comfortable thing, being able to not exchange words and understanding each other through the simplest of actions, now hangs heavily in the air. Glimmer wonders what she should say, if anything. Absentmindedly. She runs a hand across her cheek, forgetting the deep laceration there. A hiss escapes her. “Fuck, that hurts!”

“What happened? Are you alright?” Adora asks. She reaches out and gingerly places a hand under Glimmer’s chin, turning her to face her. 

“It’s nothing. Just a battle wound. It’ll heal. They won’t scar or anything.”

Glimmer watches Adora’s free head reach up and touch the side of her face, right where a memory she always wanted to forget lays. “Did...Did  _ she  _ do that? What was her name?” her eyebrows knit together in thought. “Catra?”

“Yes. That’s her name…”

“Who is she? Every time I try to think about her, my head hurts like hell and I just want to punch something. Did I know her? I-I can’t get her out of my head.”

Glimmer takes a deep breath. Maybe she should try saying something to put Adora’s mind to ease. “Yes. You did. Very well actually.”

“How?!? She is from the Horde!”

“Because...Because you two grew up with each other...in the Horde…”

Adora’s eyes go wide and she pulls away from Glimmer. “What?”

Glimmer thinks about how much she wants to say, not wanting to cause another overload. She begins explaining what she can, careful with her words. The queen tells Adora about the fact she grew up with Catra and the bond she shared with her, one that Adora once believed was love. But then, just over a year ago, she found out the horrors the Horde leaves in their wake and couldn’t stand hurting anyone. Glimmer goes on to speak about some of the things the magicat has done but not everything. She leaves out some of the worst things like nearly blowing up the planet. 

“I can’t say everything. There is way too much to say all in one sitting but after you joined us, she really grew to hate you and wanted to make your life as miserable as possible,’ Glimmer ends the story with. 

“Why was I friends with someone like that? Or love her?” Adora asks. 

Glimmer shakes her head. “I don’t know. I just know it’s complicated. A lot of this stuff is.”

Adora continues to rub the side of her face. “She...She did this to me, didn’t she? And gave me some others? It...It was a bad battle we almost lost, was it? At Brightmoon?”

“Y-Yes actual. Did you just remember?”

“Maybe? It’s all a little hazy still but it’s better than everything else I have tried to recall. I think I have had enough of trying to remember today honestly. But...can I ask you one more question?”

“What did she mean about your mom? I thought you said I had nothing to do with her death? How did she die?”

“That is more than one question, ya know,” Glimmer attempts to joke. Adora only rolls her eyes at it. “No, Adora. You still had nothing to do with it but…”

She bites her lip. It was like a slap to the face blaming Adora for Angella’s death. Glimmer doesn’t want to do that again. “She died trying to protect you. She took your place so you could live.”

“Catra...Catra had something to do with it, didn’t she...If she didn’t do  _ something  _ I don’t know what, she might still be alive?”

_ She really is doing good remembering right now...  _ Glimmer thinks. “Yes. You did everything you could but it was my mother’s choice to do so.”

“This is...all so much. I think I have had enough for today. Thank you.”

“That is probably for the best. I can leave again if you want to get some rest.”

“No. No stay please.” Adora grabs a hold of Glimmer’s wrist. “Stay.”

“I am not going anywhere.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god this chapter did take a lot out of me so I dont know when the next one will be out. still trying not to over do it with chapters. Anyway as always like kudos and comments are appreciated, especially since I am out of my comfort zone writing a chapter fic so this is all pretty "new" to me (and akfbsgkjsa i forgot to mention I do read all the comments I am just an anxious mess about replying to them)


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